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Passiflora incarnata
Also called Maypop, Apricot Vine, Maypop Passionflower, Passionflower
Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a fast-growing, hardy climbing perennial vine with bluish-purple flowers and edible apricot-flavored fruit. It is grown mainly outdoors in full sun and needs well-drained soil and room to climb.
Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent styles and stamens. One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is both found as a wildflower in the southern United States and in cultivation for its edible fruit and striking bluish purple blooms.
Passiflora incarnata is easily cultivated and in its native range and homeland is a common low maintenance garden plant that can be trained to adorn fences and arbors. Passiflora incarnata fruit contain many seeds, each surrounded by an aril holding edible juice, and this juice can be consumed fresh or used to flavor processed products. The wild maypop is an aggressive vine native to the southeastern United States extending into the central US reaching Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The vines can carpet the floor of thickets within days in favorable weather. The plants grow in full sun and need direct sunlight for at least half of the day. The best soils for P. incarnata are well-drained but the plants tolerate occasionally wet and acidic soils. The plants have a high drought tolerance. P. incarnata can be planted all the year in zone 6–11 (hardiness zone). The space between two plants is 36–60 inches (91.44 – 152.4 cm). One to two years are necessary before they begin bearing. Each flower has a very short life (about one day). Then the fruit develops in two to three months.
P. incarnata contains flavonoids with antioxidant potential and alkaloids, with leaves containing the greatest concentration of flavonoids. Other flavonoids present in P. incarnata include chrysin, apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol, and isovitexin.
Passiflora incarnata is insect pollinated and is recorded to have been visited in northern Florida by Ceratina, Lasioglossum reticulatum, Lasioglossum weemsi/leviense, and Melissodes communis.
Passionflower has culinary fruits that may be used for jams, jellies and desserts. The juice is a favorite flavoring in drinks. It can be used as a fresh substitute for its commercially grown South American relative, Passiflora edulis, a related species with similar sized fruit. The fruit can be eaten by hand; it has a mildly sweet-tart taste similar to an apricot and a pleasant scent when fully ripe. The Passiflora family have aromatic, sweet fruit that make it highly appreciated for fresh consumption and as a flavoring aid.
Sea anemone passion flower · Bracted passionflower · Passionflower · Passiflora ambigua · Passiflora amoena · Passiflora ampullacea · Passion flower · Passion flower · Passionflower · Passiflora arbelaezii · Passiflora arborea · Arizona Passion Vine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Passiflora incarnata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
